Lydia Mendoza

Lydia Mendoza (May 31, 1916 – December 20, 2007) was a Mexican-American guitarist and singer of Tejano and traditional Mexican-American music. Historian Michael Joseph Corcoran has stated that she was "The Mother of Tejano Music", an art form that is the uniquely Texas cultural amalgamation of traditional Mexican, Spanish, German, and Czech musical roots. She recorded on numerous labels over the course of her six-decade career of live performing. The aggregate total of her records numbers an estimated 200 different Spanish-language songs on at least 50 LP record albums. In 1977, she performed at the Inauguration of President Jimmy Carter, as part of the line-up for the Inaugural Folk Dance and Concert. Her most well-known tune was "Mal Hombre" (Bad Man), a song she had heard as a child.

She was born in Houston, Texas, into a Mexican musical family originally from San Luis Potosí. The family had fled Mexico at the onset of the Mexican Revolution, after which they returned home for two years. When she was four years old, the family once again immigrated to Texas. Although she lived most of her life in the United States, primarily Texas, she never spoke any language but Spanish. The family moved frequently to find work and entertained other migrant workers wherever they went.

Mendoza was known by many nicknames, such as "La Alondra de la Frontera" (The Meadowlark of the Border). In their early years of performing, "La Familia Mendoza" (the Mendoza family) would hitchhike around south Texas, performing for farm laborers. Answering an advertisement in a Spanish-language newspaper resulted in their first recording sessions with Okeh Records. She was only 12 years old, but Lydia provided vocals and played the mandolin for the recordings. They eventually caught the notice of San Antonio radio personality Manuel J. Cortez and were offered a recording contract with the RCA Victor subsidiary of Bluebird Records. During World War II, and for several years afterward, Mendoza and her sisters Juanita and Marie performed as Las Hermanas Mendoza (the Mendoza sisters). She fairly quickly emerged as the headliner of the group, but her family continued to perform with her as she toured. Not only did she perform throughout the United States, but also in Canada and Latin America, where her attendance records were estimated to be 20,000.

She was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1984, she was inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame, and in 1991, into the Conjunto Music Hall of Fame. For her contributions to the performing arts, she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by First Lady Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton, and in 2003 she was bestowed with the Texas Cultural Trust's Texas Medal of Arts. She designed and sewed her own stage costumes, and at one point was an instructor at California State University, Fresno. Mendoza was married twice and the mother of three daughters. Ever the consummate live entertainer, she twice retired from performing but resumed singing both times. A stroke in her 60s finally brought an end to her career.

Birth and Death Data: Born May 31, 1916 (Houston), Died December 20, 2007 (San Antonio)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, guitar, violin, mandolin, composer, leader, lyricist, songwriter, arranger

Notes: Name appears as Lidya Mendoza on most Victor and Bluebird disc labels.

See Also: Mendoza, Lidya

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 245 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-87816 10-in. 1/31/1935 La mujer del puerto Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar and mandolin vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-87817 10-in. 1/31/1935 As de corazones Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-87818 10-in. 1/31/1935 La cumbancha Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-87819 10-in. 1/31/1935 Temo Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-87820 10-in. 1/31/1935 La casteñita Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-87821 10-in. 1/31/1935 El lirio Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-87822 10-in. 1/31/1935 Deliciosa Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-87861 10-in. 2/1/1935 Panchita Familia Mendoza ; Lydia Mendoza Vocal and instrumental quartet songwriter, vocalist, instrumentalist, violin, leader  
Victor BVE-87862 10-in. 2/1/1935 El muchacho alegre Familia Mendoza ; Lydia Mendoza Vocal and instrumental quartet vocalist, instrumentalist, violin, leader  
Victor BVE-87863 10-in. 2/1/1935 Traje mi caballo prieto Familia Mendoza ; Lydia Mendoza Vocal and instrumental quartet vocalist, instrumentalist, violin, leader  
Victor BVE-87864 10-in. 2/1/1935 Díos vendiga Familia Mendoza ; Lydia Mendoza Vocal and instrumental quartet songwriter, vocalist, instrumentalist, violin, leader  
Victor BS-94464 10-in. 8/13/1935 Dime, mal hombre Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-94465 10-in. 8/13/1935 Limosna Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-94466 10-in. 8/13/1935 Olvidarte jamás Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BS-94467 10-in. 8/13/1935 Pajarito herido Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist, vocalist  
Victor BS-94468 10-in. 8/13/1935 Pobrecita de mi alma Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist, vocalist  
Victor BS-94469 10-in. 8/13/1935 Marimba Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar and mandolin instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BS-94470 10-in. 8/13/1935 Sola Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BS-94471 10-in. 8/13/1935 Capricho Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BS-94472 10-in. 8/13/1935 Pálida luna Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist, vocalist  
Victor BS-94473 10-in. 8/13/1935 Arráncame la vida Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BS-94474 10-in. 8/13/1935 Bohemios : Canción Lydia Mendoza Female vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist, vocalist  
Victor BS-94611 10-in. 8/16/1935 Ahorillas de una fuente Familia Mendoza ; Lydia Mendoza Vocal and instrumental quartet vocalist, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor BS-94612 10-in. 8/16/1935 El hijo pródigo Familia Mendoza ; Lydia Mendoza Vocal and instrumental quartet vocalist, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor BS-94613 10-in. 8/16/1935 Valentina Familia Mendoza ; Lydia Mendoza Vocal and instrumental quartet vocalist, instrumentalist, violin  
(Results 26-50 of 245 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Mendoza, Lydia," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105196.

Mendoza, Lydia. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105196.

"Mendoza, Lydia." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105196

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